Did I enjoy BLACK PANTHER? Yes. Did I think it was the best movie in the Marvel universe? No. Did it live up to the hype for me? No.

Now don't hate me for my opinion. I felt the same way about WONDER WOMAN. So many people were telling me I'd love it and I really thought it was only okay. Everyone should know what this movie is about, but if you don't this is taken from IMDb: T'Challa, the King of Wakanda, rises to the throne in the isolated, technologically advanced African nation, but his claim is challenged by a vengeful outsider who was a childhood victim of T'Challa's father's mistake. It is really so much more than that though. It was a romance movie with action and family drama, in a place that doesn't exist, but in an Africa that does (yes, the entire continent of Africa).

While the movie has a lot of great cinematography and acting, I thought the plot of it was a little lacking, and it could have used some good editing. For me there was too much backstory, and I wasn't sure why I should care. I don't want backstory unless it is being developed to make me feel for someone later in the movie, or push along my views of a character. BLACK PANTHER flipped too much and didn't stay with one character enough for me to feel anything, and the ease of the end of the bad guy they were chasing from the beginning of the movie seemed a little too defeating and easy, it added nothing and was unnecessary. I don't think it should have happened as easily as it did, nor do I think the end of the movie should have been as flat as I felt it was. How easily does a man go from saying, we should keep Wakanda a secret, to let's go to war with the world! It really didn't make sense, and neither did it make sense that this same man would turn against his friend so easily because of someone who came in and said something that didn't at all make sense.

There were so many characters, and there wasn't enough of a focus on one or two to have much story development. I would have liked to have the film focus on four of the characters, T'Challa, his sister Shuri, the head of the female warriors Nakia, and Erik Killmonger, a young man with a goal to help his people, but not quite in the right way.

BLACK PANTHER was a fine film, but I feel as if it didn't live up to the expectations I had based on what everyone was saying after they had seen it. I'd also like to say, it isn't the first movie with an African-American superhero, but it is the first movie with a full cast of African-Americans who move the film along, which is pretty cool. So I will honestly give it that for being interesting and including an almost exclusively African-American cast, but was it a great movie or the best in the Marvel universe? No, it was a-aight. I honestly enjoyed the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 1+2 better, partly because the focus was limited, and partly because it didn't seem to try so hard at explaining all of the characters important to that movie with the backstory of the marginal characters being forgotten. We know nothing of why there is a king over the entirety of these different groups, nor do we know why some are treated different that the others.

Now, the last thing I want to say is that the character of M'Baku, played by Winston Duke, is great and I would have liked him to have some more screen time. His character was funny and serious and absolutely fabulous. He was given some of the best lines and scenes and his character was underused in a film where he could have been used more adeptly.

So, go see it if you like, most people seem to like it more than I do. I think I am maybe a little biased, partly because I was a little hesitant to believe the masses chanting "it was the best movie ever" like they did for WONDER WOMAN, which was not the best version of WONDER WOMAN I feel we could have had.

From IMDb the synopsis: Imprisoned, the almighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.

This is the third in the THOR movies, and while it wasn't as good as the first it was miles better than the second. It had humor, fun, interesting scenes, heartfelt moments, and a bunch of fun fighting scenes, the music wasn't bad either.

I found that I still enjoy several of the characters, like Loki and Odin, and even Hulk. There were added characters who were fun as well, like Grandmaster (who wouldn't love Jeff Goldblum) and Skurge (who isn't who you expect and Karl Urban all muscular and bald - even if it was fake - was nice to look at). However, there was one character that didn't get the attention she deserved and that was Kate Blanchett as Hela, the Goddess of Death.

While this movie was fun there was also several issues with it. One of the issues was that there was a lot of fighting and unnecessary chatter that didn't need to be used, even though some of it was fun it wasn't needed. More time should have been given to the backstory and the building of Hela as a character. It seemed like a waste to use Kate Blanchett in the role and then have her behave as a minor character, when she was integral to the story. If she hadn't been part of the story then the movie wouldn't have had much of a point.

There was plenty of great banter between the characters, and the uses of some of the best actors around was fascinating. I will never look at Matt Damon or Sam Neill the same. I also loved the return if Idris Elba, as Heimdall. The Hulk had more to say in this movie, and it was great because it gave insight into not only him but Banner. There is an interesting split between the two and it is somewhat sad because the viewer can see the psychology of the character of the Hulk and feel for him a little. What would like be like if you were seen one way, a monster? For the Hulk it is not great, until he lands in the spot of a warrior.

I would have liked to see Thor grow a little more as a character as he does a lot of talking about his hammer and being the God of Thunder, but what does the God of Thunder mean? Although I did enjoy the camaraderie between Loki and Thor as their love/hate relationship continues, and the life of siblings.... which I understand as I have several.

Was this a great movie? No. Was it worth it to see? Yes. It needed a little more added to it to make it a fulfilling movie, but it was absolutely better than the second Thor movie (by a lot), and it had so many fun moments it was worth it just for those moments.

I will add one more thing, the use of IMMIGRANT SONG by Led Zepplin was freaking fantastic!

Superheros seem to be everywhere, from Batman and Superman, to the Avengers, to the Justice League and Wonder Woman, and while the Guardians of the Galaxy are superheros as well, they aren't really super in the typical sense, they are super in the extraterrestrial sense. I recommend that if you haven't seen the first movie, you do that before seeing this one. It isn't that you won't enjoy it, but you might not get all of the references in this one.

So what is this movie about? What is the plot?

Peter Quill is riding high off of his rescue of the infinity stone, and life. Him and his team go on missions for others planets and species to take part in paid missions which only they can accomplish. His team is like his family and it includes Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and baby Groot. Along the way Quill finds out who his father really is and several interesting and unforeseen facts emerge.

Like the original movie this one continued to have several humorous moments and laughable jokes. Drax as a character seems more developed, and while he still has a somewhat flat demeanor, he has learned about humor and sarcasm. He is one of the standouts in this movie as he frequently has both serious moments but he also breaks up serious moments by adding humor and lightheartedness to these moments. Rocket is still as ornery as he was in the first movie, and continues to push limits of what he can do and what is going to be tolerated by the rest of the guardians. Gamora is a little less angry in this movie, and her heart shows through several times, creating more depth to her character. Poor Groot is still a baby and is growing into his size, very slowly. He will eventually prove to be the same Groot he used to be, but he was delightful and funny, and the young ladies sitting next to me kept commenting on how cute and adorable he was.

So, what is different in this movie that makes it stand out from the first one. For one thing, you already know the characters, and love the humor and the strength of them. There isn't as much action in this one as there was in the first one, but that is okay because the action is replaced by something else I was not expecting... Heart.

I was surprised at how much emotion this movie had. There were several times where I felt bad for the characters, and delighted. This movie is much more than another superhero movie, it is really about what matters, or should matter to everyone. It is a movie about discovering family you thought you had lost and realizing that the family you have created might just be the family you need. In the end, this movie is all about knowing when to stop searching for the things you think you are missing. It is about reconnecting to what really matters and realizing that you don't need what you never had.

I was touched by several scenes in this movie, from Drax describing his daughter to a new character Mantis, and the sadness, regret, and love he talked about his lost child. I was touched by Gamora and Nebula's attempts to be who they needed each other to be, and after seeing some of the trouble in their relationship I wanted to hug my own siblings and let them know how much they mattered to me. So to say this movie is really filled with orphans looking for family is not a far stretch, and they prove that family is the one thing not set in stone, or built in blood. Family is what you create it to be.

This was an excellent movie, deeper than most people probably think when they watch it. Summertime movies are known for being light, something to watch in an air conditioned room, getting away from the heat. This was not a typical summertime movie, it has depth, redemption, action, and it makes one think.